Hospitalet de Llobregat

Hospitalet de Llobregat isn’t a beautiful city. It’s a "bedroom town" southwest of Barcelona. It's the second biggest in Catalonia by population. It's important for being one of the most dense cities in Spain and also in the European Union.

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Although it’s important for this reason, my town hasn’t got anything special. It hasn’t got its own identity and personality. When people in L’Hospitalet want to go shopping or have fun, they travel to Barcelona where they find the charm that you miss in l’Hospitalet.

I normally move around the oldest quarter “Barri Centre”. In this neighbourhood you can find the City Council and the biggest church of the town Sta Eulàlia de Mérida, built after the Civil War above the remains of the old gothic church.

At this moment l’Hospitalet has a woman major, Núria Marín. The FORMER major was Celestino Corbacho, nowadays he’s the Work minister (between you and I, I don’t miss him!!!).

The oldest street is Xipreret street. It’s a narrow street and it’s full of historical buildings, such as “l’Harmonia” ( a renaissance building), the house with gothic windows, la “Talaia” (a watchtower), or “Ca n’Espanya”, which at the moment is the museum of the city. Also across this street, there is other narrow street where you can find “Can Sumarro”, the town library.

Around the “Rambles” there is an area where people can find fun. The “Rambles” is great for walking around . There are a few outdoor bars and restaurants and at the weekend, people sit in the sun, to have some drink. Also in the “Rambles” there is the oldest cinema of the town “Rambles Cinema”. On Tuesday evening it shows alternative films, “Cinema Club” in Original Version.

Nearby the “Rambles” there is a big shopping center. “La Farga Max Center”. There are many wellknown shops such as Berska, Spriendfield, Zara, Mango..., a multiplex cinema and a few restaurants ( Mexican, Chinese, Japanese...). At the end of “Rambles” there is a local disco “Salamandra” where almost every weekend you can listen to live music.

The weather here is good. L’Hospitalet is a Mediterranean town and its climate is wet and warm. It sometimes rains a few days, normally in the spring and in the autum. The winter isn’t very cold and it hardly ever snows. It hasn’t snowed for six years. In that year it snowed a little, just to cover the street. The summer is sunny, but also very wet, so it feels hotter than it really is.

L’Hospitalet is not famous for anything. People that don’t live in l’Hospitalet maybe know it for its big hospital “Residencia de Bellvitge” and for two years for its Hotel Hesperia Tower, a skyscraper. It’s 106 meters tall. At the top of this building there is a dome that looks like a flying saucer and where there is a luxury restaurant owned by Santi Santamaria.The menu costs about 100 €.

There isn’t a local festival. Each neighbourhood has its own local festival (Sant Josep, Sant Joan, Mare de Déu de Bellvitge...) and the others festivals are the same of Barcelona.

L’Hospitalet is not famous for its celebrity people. They were born in l’Hospitalet: the musician Antoni Ros-Marbà, the politician Joan Saura, the cook Ferran Adrià and the actors Núria Espert, Amparo Moreno and Jose Corbacho.

Now one footballer who was born in Hospitalet succeeds in Barça team, Víctor Valdés and also people now are listening to a young singer-songwriter called Dani Flaco. His songs are settled in l’Hospitalet, his town.
But, although all these personalities, people associate l’Hospitalet with Carlos “el Yoyas”, one contestant of the TVprogramme “Big Brother”. What a pity!!!!